On February 20, at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), Minister Dao Ngoc Dung had a cordial meeting with Mrs. Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa, Director of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

At the meeting, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung highly appreciated the cooperation between ILO and the Government of Vietnam in general and the MoLISA in particular.  

The Minister said that the ILO is the traditional and largest international partner organization of MoLISA, with cooperation activities in almost areas under the responsibility of the Ministry such as employment, vocational training, wages, occupational safety - hygiene, social security, support for vulnerable groups.

The cooperation programs between the Ministry and the ILO, especially the National Cooperation Program on Decent Work in the period of 2022-2026 approved by the Prime Minister will be the framework for comprehensive cooperation activities between the ILO and the tripartite partners in Vietnam in the coming period, in line with Vietnam's priorities and the One Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation.

The Minister also thanked the ILO for the contributions not only in financial and technical aspects, but also in new initiatives and new approaches to green jobs, decent work, and social security, especially in the context of post-Covid-19 recovery, the transition from the informal economy to the official one... so that countries can make appropriate preparations and decisions. For this activity of the ILO, Vietnam has been actively participating.

Talking at the meeting, Mrs. Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa appreciated the leadership and direction of Minister Dao Ngoc Dung in the process of ratifying international conventions, labour standards, and implementing the Labour Code and other policies related to the field of labour and social affairs.

The Director of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific shared that she was pleased and highly appreciated Vietnam's efforts in implementing and ratifying the ILO's fundamental conventions as well as fulfilling implement its commitment to improving labour law, especially the promulgation of the Labour Code 2019 and has been making efforts to amend other laws such as the Law on Social Insurance, the Law on Employment, etc.

Mrs. Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa affirmed that the ILO is always ready and glad to provide technical support for this process.

In response to Mrs. Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung said that Vietnam has defined economic development must go hand in hand with social progress and justice, not "sacrificing" social progress, justice and environment for economic growth.

Along with the efforts of the Government and the MoLISA, Vietnam's social security system, social policies, and social welfare in recent years have made clear progress. Currently, Vietnam's budget expenditure accounts for about 21% for social issues and social security.

However, at present, Vietnam is also facing the world's common challenges in terms of labour, employment, and social security. That is the challenge of population aging, climate change, the instability of the labour market, and the high proportion of workers in the informal sector, and in terms of policy and law, there are still shortcomings.

The Minister hoped that in the coming period, the Ministry would continue to receive more attention and support from the ILO in the process of implementing the Vietnam - ILO cooperation program on Decent Work for the period 2022 - 2026./.